THEME: WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE New Jersey COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Mercer INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE (Type all entries - complete applicable sections)

|:i|ff;:|fi$;i:::|;??::;;^;|| ^™jgj*$ COMMON: Joseph Hewes Birthplace and Boyhood Home AND/OR HISTORIC: Maybury Hill

(SIPfeM:' 1 ;;;;; ^.^-- ?•••• :V- = , : x, :.= :v '- . LSI STREET AND NUMBER: Snowden Lane CITY OR TOWN: Princeton

STATE CODE COUNTY: CODE New Jersev MprPPr-

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\s\ STATUS ACCESSIBLE SI1 ? 0 "* OWNERSHIP (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC Z \ | District g[] Building 1 1 Public Public Acquisition: 0 Occupied Yes: O ,, . . | | Restricted Q Site Q Structure 53 Private Q In Process n Unoccupied ' — ' i— in . 1 1 Unrestricted [ | Object | | Both | | Being Considerec 1 _| Preservation work — H in progress 51 No

U PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) ID \ I Agricultural | | Government | | Park 1 I Transportation 1 1 Comments a: | | Commercial CH Industrial (^] Private Residence (~1 Other (Specify) h- f~1 Educational f~1 Mi itary [~1 Religious uo | | Entertainment 1 1 Museum | | Scientific •z llliIllill:^:^^ R§P 6 RTY '"' ,:.i :^:Jk3^ ' OWNER'S N AME: STATE: Professor and Mrs. Jean Labatut in STREET AND NUMBER: in P.O. Box 215 «/> CITY OR TOWN: STA"rE: CODE Princeton 085^0 New Jersev PIUliJl'^W il

-. \ ..; \''-'-'- '•'••• ••• ....•;:; •'• • :-::;-;i;: '-:;,x ,-;-:::S: COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: COUNTY: Mercer Countv Court House STREET AND NUMBER:

South Broad Str^t CITY OR TOWN: STA'TE CODE Trenton New Jersey

|||!|i|;||;|||;^|||i|j^': iSi J^JST $'& SU R VEYS TITUE OF SURVEY: ENTR

T1 O NUMBERY DATE OF SURVEY: Q Federol Q State O County n Loco 70 DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Z TJ C/> C STREET AND NUMBER: c^ rn O r~z CITY OR TOWN: STAT E: CODE -<

DATE y i/L (Check One)

llent Q Good Q Fair Deteriorated Ruins Q Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) ^r Altered Q Unaltered Moved ft] Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL, (if known) PHYSICAL, APPEARANCE

"Maybury Hill," built about 1725 and enlarged in 1753? is a two-story stone Georgian Farmhouse with gable roof. As built in 1725 the house is believed to have been about 3^ -feet wide and 31-feet deep, with a detached kitchen building, 13 by 30-feet in size, located a short distance to the north. In 1753 the main house was extended to the north and con­ nected with the kitchen structure. In its final form Maybury Hill is a L-shaped house about 50 -feet wi'e by 31 to Ul-feet deep, and a 13 by 30- foot kitchen attached to the north end.

The east (main) facade is five bays wide. Windows are topped by flat brick arches; first story windows have panelled shutters and those on the second story are adorne r1 by Louvered shutters. The massive walls, constructed of field stone, were covered, with concrete on the -exterior about 1900 - except for this change, the house is otherwise little- altered. The center door opens into a central hall that extends through the structure to the rear. The stair is set against the right or north wall. To the left of the hall is a single large room, the parlor, which occupied the first floor of the 1725 portion of Ihe house. To the right in the 1753 addition, are two large rooms, the living room and dining room. These rooms have panelled walls, shell cabinets, and exposed ceiling beams. The dining room fireplace is faced with tile. The floors are of wide boards. Upstairs there are four bedrooms.

The house is in excellent condition. Used as a private residence, the building is not open to visitors. The property is marked by a State Historical marker which reads:

"Joseph Hewes Born here 1730, He later moved to North Carolina. He signed the Declaration of Independence for that State in 1776." PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate)

Q Pre-Columbian | O 16th Century 18th Century 20th Century

Q 15th Century Q 17th Century 19th Century

SPECIFIC DATE(s) (If Applicable and Known) 1730-1750 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Chock One or More as Appropriate)

Abar iginal [ | Education [A] Political I| Urban Planning

[~~1 Prehistoric [ | Engineering I I Religion/Phi­ n Other (Specify)

d Historic [~] Industry losophy

[~~| Agriculture j | Invention || Science

f~l Architecture f~l Landscape I | Sculpture

D Art Architecture I | Social/Human­

[~] Commerce [ | Literature itarian [~] Communications | | Military | | Theater [~] Conservation [H Music I I Transportation

TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE This stone house, built about 1725 and enlarged in 1753? "was the birthplace (1730) and boyhood home of Joseph Hewes, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence for North Carolina, merchant, and politician. The "Maybury Hill Tf is little-altered,Georgian House,and is in excellent condition.

Brief Sketch of the Life of Joseph Hewes, 1730-1779

Joseph Hewes was born January 23? 1730 on a farm at the edge of Princeton, New Jersey, After finishing his schooling in Princeton he was apprenticed to a Philadelphia merchant, then went into business for himself, and acquired a comfortable fortune. About 17^0 he moved to Edenton, North Carolina, an important shipping and trading center, where he resided for the rest of his life. He established there a thriving mercantile and shipping business and he never married.

From 1766 to 1775 he was borough member in the North Carolina Colonial Assembly. In 1773 he was a member of the committee of corres­ pondence and a delegate to all five provincial congresses of North Carolina. He served in the Continental Congress from 177^- to 1777. In 1775 he was the active member and real head of the committee to fit out arme r"! vessels and as chairman of the committee of the marine, was in actual fact the first executive head of the navy of the United States. He appointed John Paul Jones as officer of the navy and found him a ship. In 1776 Hewes spent the entire year in Philadelphia and was a member of the secret committee, the committee on claims, and the com­ mittee to prepare a plan of confederation. In 1777 he was not reelected to Congress. In 1778? however, he was a borough member of the North Carolina House of Commons and was returned to the Continental Congress in 1779. He regularly worked 12 hours a day without interruption an<§ without food and drink, and in consequence his health failed completely. He died in Philadelphia on November 10, 1779- He was buried in either the Christ Church Burial Ground or the churchyard of Christ Church, Philadelphia. His grave site is unknown and unmarked. A monument in his honor was erected in 1932 by the Congress of the Unite States at the south end of the Green in Edenton. Ill ||i|f|:|||fi;iOGRAPWICAi REFERENCES - >•.... •?••" 5i^^-.-r- f&-^|i!:r :* -..^ ; x':''';|^:; ;;;" ;^- .-.rf^i. Dictionary of American Biography, (New York, 19^3), Vol. XIV, U31. Article by J.G. deRoulhac Hamilton.

Elizabeth Fields and Dr. J.E. Fields, "The Signers Lived Here," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, May 1951, 9.

New Jersey, A Guide to Its Present and Past (American Guide Series) (New York, 1939), ^88. Varnum L. Collins, Princeton Past and Present (Princeton, 1931), 89-91. lilililitlliP:HiC!AL DATA X: Boundaries • : ?.- •,,«•-:• - ; "<• >..\f < LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 0 DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY 0 OF LESS THAN TFN ACRES CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW 1+0 ° 22 ' 11 " 7^ o 38 ' 35 " 1+0 ° 22 • 02 " 7^ ° 38 • 30 - NE 1+0 ° 22 ' 02 " 7^ ° 38 ' 30 " SE l+o ° 21 ' 56 " 7^ ° 38 ' 32 " Location of he use sw UO ^ pi - 5q . 71^ o ^Q , ^q n APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 15 aCreS

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As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na­ I hereby certify that this property is included in the tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register. in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation level of significance of this nomination is: National [~~1 State [~~1 Local Q

Date Name ATTEST:

Title

Keeper of The National Register

Date Date Form 10-300o UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE New Jersey NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Mercer INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER (Continuation Sheet)

(Number all entries) Joseph Hewes Birthplace, Significance (l) Maybury Hill

HISTORY OF HOUSE

This stone farmhouse is believed to have been built in 1725, rebuilt following a fire in 1735, and enlarged to its present size in 1753' Joseph Hewes' father, Arron, leased the farm property from Judge Thomas Leonard during the period 1730-1755- The farm­ house was renovated by Dr. W. S. Maclaren of Princeton in 1920 and acquired by the present owners in 1936.